John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, "had charged the English settlers in New England with a special and unique Providential mission," (Scott, n.d., p. 1). The belief that Anglo-Saxon settlers were blessed by God and entitled to political and economic sovereignty over the American continent would become known as Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny refers mainly to the philosophy motivating territorial expansion, but also coincided with religious ideology prevalent in the United States during the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening. Moreover, Manifest Destiny is related to other American values including those of "rugged individualism" and "domination over the wilderness," (Tveskov & Cohen, 2015, p. 191). Manifest Destiny was also a racist philosophy, as it is characterized specifically by the perception of Anglo-Saxons as "separate, innately superior people who were destined to bring good government, commercial prosperity, and Christianity to the American continents and the world," (Horsman, 1981, p. 2). Manifest Destiny began as an extension of religious ideology and later became more political propaganda, motivated by economic rather than spiritual reasons. Although Manifest Destiny was the reason for initial settlement and colonization of the Americas, the term came to full fruition during the early and middle 19th century. Andrew Jackson's encroachment into Seminole Territories in Florida, leading...
O'Sullivan in 1845, when he wrote about "the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us," (cited in "Manifest Destiny," n.d.). The following year, on January 3, 1846 Representative Robert C. Winthrop of Massachusetts delivered a speech to Congress referring to the "new revelation of right which has been designated as the right of our manifest destiny to spread over this whole continent…so clear, so pre-eminent, and so indisputable…the right of manifest destiny," (cited by Pratt, 1927, p. 795). During the 19th century, Manifest Destiny reached a peak, especially as Westward expansion became feasible and desirable for economic and political reasons. Expansion into the Oregon territories and the lands governed by Mexico were the most significant manifestations of the doctrine of Manifest Destiny.
Race and Ethnic Inclusion and Exclusion In Ira Berlin's (1998) Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America, the author shows how groups in the U.S. struggled to exclude other groups. White people made a serious effort to exclude black people from anything other than the most menial jobs for a very long time (Davidson, 2005; Gasorek, 1998). The desire to exclude was based on skin color
American National Character (history) The Ongoing Search for an "American National Character" This assignment asks the following pertinent and challenging questions: Is it possible to find trends amongst so much diversity? What characteristics are distinctly American, regardless of class, race, and background? What is problematic about making these generalizations and inheriting the culture? What have we inherited exactly? What problems arise with our ideals - and are we being honest with ourselves?
American National Character America can almost be thought of as a massive experiment in culture. Here we have a nation inhabited almost entirely by immigrants; all with different languages, customs, beliefs, and appearances who are forced to somehow reach a common understanding and identity. Through the over two hundred years of American history many differences have threatened to unravel our diverse nation, but still, many commonalities have ultimately held it
Systems of Power and Inequality In early March of 2012, a 28-minute video on the plight of African children received more than 21 million YouTube views. The video vividly depicts how the guerilla warlord Joseph Kony, leader of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), reportedly abducted over 60,000 children who were subsequently forced to become child soldiers or sex slaves over the course of the civil war. Captured children who did not
In the course of his campaign, Obama inspired millions of Americans - young and old, rich and poor, rural and urban, and from every racial and ethnic background. When Obama walked into the room. . The crowd was transfixed (Tufankjuan, 2008). The goal, of course, is that in politics, as well as society, race plays no part in the decision process. Thanks to previous Civil Rights advocates, and people
As Mitchell points out however, this criterion can overlook the major differences between the cultures that form the Hispanic group, and the multicultural curriculum should ensure the recognition of these basic differences. (Mitchell, 102) However, this emphasis on difference that is characteristic of the contemporary ethnic studies is not to be taken as a form of absolute belonging or encapsulation of an individual in a certain culture. Multicultural education aims
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